Steve Jobs' announcement of the
new iPhone will definitely rattle the telecom industry worldwide. Not only does it support 3G, it looks more refined, and more importantly, for $199 - this is a price point that a lot of people will shell out.
As for me, no matter how tempting it is, I am still holding off for one reason: It doesn't support
UMA.
What is UMA? It stands for Unlicensed Mobile Access - essentially, it allows you to roam between regular cellphone networks AND wi-fi networks. Yes, you can place and receive phone calls using wi-fi. So far, only T-Mobile in the USA provides this service which they brand as
Hotspot @ Home and there are only
selected phones that supports UMA.
Here are the following reasons why UMA is such a big deal to me:
1.
Better coverage. You see, at home, I have spotty cellphone signal. With UMA, my
blackberry curve routes all the calls through my wi-fi network. The signal is strong, voice quality is crystal clear.
2.
Cheaper. I use to have the macdaddy minutes for my cellphone plan. Today, I have downgraded to fewer cellphone minutes and pay $9.99 extra for UNLIMITED UMA minutes 24x7. That means whenever I place or receive calls using UMA, it is unlimited calls baby. These days, anywhere I go, I get wi-fi access anyway. The $9.99 fee includes starbucks and other places that has
T-Mobile hotspots (airports, Fedex Kinko's, hotels).
3. No more international roaming charges. I travel a lot internationally. Used to be, I would pay $2/minute for incoming or outgoing calls whenever I use my cellphone outside of the US. Well, with UMA, as long as I have wi-fi access in the location I am in, NO MORE international roaming charges. This is the most compelling reason for me to love UMA. Imagine, I can talk on my cellphone as long as I want while I am overseas yet not pay anything extra. Brilliant isn't it?
No matter how much of an early adopter that I am and admire Apple products, I am still holding off on the iPhone for now. UMA had me @ hello.